Drawing on Nature

In East Asian art, elements of nature were used as a language of symbolism. In this image, Katei distributes the stalks of the peony plant both before and behind the rock, giving the composition a sense of depth. 

In this image, butterflies hover around a peony bush which, due to the density and abundance of its petals, represents a wish for wealth and prosperity. 

Tigers are not found in Japan, but as they were a common theme in Chinese art, they were taken up as a popular painting subject in Japan. This small sketch is signed by Taki's student Ishibashi Kazunori and is dated summer 1897. 

The tiger is regularly depicted with bamboo, as it is supposedly the only animal capable of negotiating the dense thickets of this plant. The combination represented a harmonious society and was favoured by the warrior class for painting schemes within their castles and mansions.

In this scene, a monkey cowers with its young in a rock crevice, hiding from a predatory eagle above. On the contours of the rocks, areas of the paper have been left unpainted to indicate the covering of snow, which is rendered with white pigment in the finished painting. 

An eagle bearing down on a monkey was a visual representation of the saying, “the eagle who doesn’t look up” (in Japanese, ue minu washi), indicating a creature without predators, superior in strength. This message of power and dominance was eminently suitable to promote an image of the Japanese imperial household as the supreme authority in the land.

The monumental mountain landscape was a key form of Chinese painting from the 10th century onwards, presenting an imaginary and idealised ‘landscape of the mind,’ a visual field in which the viewer could wander meditatively and leave behind the mental burdens of everyday life.

At the very bottom of the image, we see a gentleman-scholar and his attendant on a path along the river, about to begin the journey to the buildings in the mountains. The system of belief known as Daoism believed it possible to acquire magical skills and immortality through ascetic practices. Such beings were believed to dwell in the mountains. The journey through the landscape can be seen as symbolic of the individual’s passage through life, towards a higher realm.

The genre of bird-and-flower painting within East Asian art featured close-up views, with a single creature, or a small group, shown in isolation. Here, we see a wild goose standing alone in a wintry landscape. 

The theme represented the gentleman-scholar’s ideal of a peaceful, solitary retreat within nature, an escape from the hustle and bustle of society and the complications of politics and power. The bird is depicted by a clump of snow-laden reeds, suggesting the shore of a lake. It opens its beak to call out, probably to its mate returning home.